The production of cheese by traditional methods is a time-consuming process. The starting material for such traditional cheeses invariably is whole milk or whole milk that has either been augmented with milk fat or treated to separate high milk fat-containing fractions which are used for the production of cheese from relatively lower milk fat-containing fractions. The production of cheese having good flavor by such traditional methods is a complex process that is not well understood. What is understood, however, is that the flavors that give the various cheese their distinctive characteristics are gradually produced during ripening times which may vary from 2-3 months to well over one year at controlled temperatures. Because of the long and exacting storage conditions for the ripening process such traditionally produced cheeses are an expensive delicacy for a small segment of the cheese-consuming population.
An alternative approach to the production of cheeses having a distinctive and pleasing flavor is to obtain a cheese flavored substance, via various processes, having a distinctive cheese flavor and to add this cheese-flavored substance to a relatively young cheese, i.e., one that has not been subjected to a long aging process, or to a chesse that has not developed a distinctive flavor. Such cheese-flavored substances, of course, have a more general application in the food industry. They may be used to impart a cheese flavor to a variety of foods, including: processed cheeses, which include natural cheese, color, salt and emulsifiers; processed cheese foods which include, in addition to the ingredients of processed cheese, certain optional ingredients such as skim milk, whey, milk cream, albumin and skim milk cheese; or processed cheese spreads which include, in addition to the ingredients in processed cheese food, gums and the like for water retention. Cheese-flavored substances furthermore may be used to impart a distinctive cheese flavor to imitation cheese. Moreover, such distinctive cheese flavors can be used in a number of non-chesse type foods. For example, they can be used in baked goods such as cheese-flavored crackers, chips, breads, cakes, and the like.
In general, cheese-flavored substances may be produced by one of two methods, In the first method, a traditionally produced unripened cheese having no distinctive flavor is subjected to enzymatic digestion. The digest is combined with various ingredients and added to the food product to be produced. Although it is possible to produce relatively large amounts of cheese-flavored substances by this general process, it has the distinct disadvantage of a relatively expensive starting material.
A second approach to producing cheese flavor is to employ fermentative techniques. Cheese-flavored substances produced by processes of this type have almost always used substrates having relatively high milk fat concentrations--on the order of between 30% and 80% on a solids basis. Usually, such high milk fat substances take the form of cream or butter. In general, these processes all utilize substrates having relatively low protein concentrations, usually not exceeding 3% on a weight/volume basis. Although it is possible, using these conventional fermentation processes, to produce substances having distinct cheese tastes in a relatively short period of time--on the order of 2-5 days--these conventional techniques have the distinct disadvantage of requiring relatively expensive starting materials as substrates. Moreover, these starting materials are subject to spoilage in short periods of time if not stored under proper conditions, usually requiring refrigeration. Thus, the substrates used in conventional techniques entail considerable expense in acquisition and storage.